Everything you need to know about Kautilya, our micro PE practice, deal sourcing, due diligence, and how we work.
Kautilya is a micro private equity firm that helps buyers acquire, operate, and grow small businesses in the $50K-$5M range. We handle everything from deal sourcing and due diligence to operator placement and post-acquisition growth - so you can own a profitable, cash-flowing business without quitting your day job or starting from scratch.
We work with individual first-time buyers, search fund entrepreneurs, software HoldCos, roll-up operators, and VC-backed companies looking to grow through acquisition. If you know what kind of business you want and need the deal flow, diligence, and operational support to get it done - that's us.
Most advisors hand you a report and disappear. We stay through the entire lifecycle - sourcing, diligence, structuring, operations setup, and growth. We're operators first, not just consultants. We also specialize in creative deal structures (seller financing, earnouts, revenue-based payments) that make acquisitions possible without massive upfront capital.
We're sector-flexible but focus on asset-light, founder-operated businesses - SaaS, content sites, service businesses, IT staffing, e-commerce, and digital-first companies. If it's operationally simple and has real cash flow, we'll look at it.
We source deals across the US, UAE, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and MENA. Our team has localized playbooks for different markets, so structuring and diligence adjust to the jurisdiction.
Primarily off-market. We run direct founder outreach (cold email, LinkedIn, Loom videos), tap into a deep broker network, mine community forums, and use social signal analysis to detect selling intent before businesses hit the open market. We also monitor 30+ vetted online marketplaces as a supplement.
Depends on your plan. Our retainer tiers deliver 8, 20, or 50+ vetted deals per month. Every deal is pre-screened - verified financials, seller motivation assessed, creative financing potential evaluated.
The business isn't listed on any marketplace. We're reaching out directly to founders and owners who may be open to selling but haven't publicly announced it. These deals tend to have less competition, more flexible terms, and better pricing.
That's the expectation. The more specific your criteria - industry, size, geography, margin thresholds, deal-breakers - the better we perform. We build a personalized acquisition plan based on your exact parameters.
A 6-week deep dive across 8 workstreams: Financial, Commercial/Product, Email & CRM, Affiliate & Partnerships, Traffic & Conversion, Tech & Data, Operational & Team, and Strategic & Exit. You get a full DD report, normalized financial model, risk map, transition plan, and a 30-60-90 day post-close action plan.
Typically 1-3 analysts and, if required, 1 developer per engagement, led by a dedicated team lead. For retainer clients, the team scales with your plan tier.
We'll kill a deal if the numbers don't work. Our approach is owner-minded - we evaluate every business as if we were buying it ourselves. If we see red flags, you'll hear about them before you waste another dollar.
Yes. Standalone DD engagements start at $6,500 plus a 0.3% success fee on close. You get the full 8-workstream analysis regardless of how you sourced the deal.
We offer three engagement types: Due Diligence Only ($6,500 + 0.3% success fee on close), Market Research ($3,500-$5,000 for a 6-8 week deep dive), and Full-Service Retainer ($2,500-$10,000/month depending on deal volume, plus success fees - 3% under $650K, 1.5% above $650K).
50% upfront, 50% at Phase 1 close (or as agreed per engagement). Success fees are due only when a deal closes.
Retainers are month-to-month. DD and research engagements are scoped per project. No long-term lock-ins.
Typical timeline is 30-90 days from the time you engage with a target. Sourcing the right deal can take a few weeks to a few months depending on how specific your criteria are.
Absolutely - a significant portion of our clients are first-time acquirers. We walk you through every step: defining your criteria, evaluating deals, structuring the offer, running diligence, setting up operations, and planning for growth. You don't need M&A experience. You need clarity on what you want.
We don't provide capital directly, but we specialize in creative deal structures - seller financing, earnouts, revenue-based payments, and hybrid structures that reduce the cash you need upfront. We'll help you structure the deal so it works for your situation.
We don't disappear at close. Phase 3 is operations setup - we place experienced operators, implement automation, and build your management dashboards. Phase 4 is growth strategy: revenue optimization, cost efficiency, market expansion, and exit preparation.
We source and vet operational talent - managers, specialists, and integrators - who step in to run the day-to-day of your newly acquired business. The goal is for you to spend 3-5 hours per week on the business, not 40.
No. That's the point of operator placement. We help you build a team so the business runs without you being in the weeds daily.
We build a growth playbook specific to your business - revenue levers, cost optimization, expansion opportunities, and a clear exit strategy. We stay on as a partner for 30-90 days post-close (and beyond, for retainer clients).
7 acquisitions with 2 successful exits to date. Our analyst team reviews 30-50 deals per week and has completed 1,200+ outreach campaigns with a 14.8% response rate - well above industry average.
A 10-person team including analysts, a DD lead, engineers, and operations support - led by Dev Shah, a 24-year-old micro PE operator who's personally acquired and exited multiple businesses.
Retainers are month-to-month. If the deals aren't matching your criteria, we recalibrate. If it's still not a fit, you walk - no penalties, no hard feelings.